Rev. Stephen P. "Gutty" Gutridge

Rev. Stephen P. "Gutty" Gutridge
This blog is my comments on current cultural and church happenings along with answers to your questions. I will make an honest effort to answer everything you ever wanted to ask about God, faith, the Bible, Jesus Christ, etc.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Orthodoxy Verses Tolerance

Tolerance is the acceptance of the thoughts, reasonings, and actions of another as equally valid as your own. The ever watchful and highly critical "politically correct" culture today misinterprets this understanding by insisting that we must tolerate the thoughts, reasonings, and actions of others as equally valid as our own. This insistance extends to things that are clearly illegal, immoral, and or sinful. Failure to "tolerate" brands one as "intolerant" and therefore unAmerican and unacceptable.

Followers of Jesus Christ must be willing to tolerate the thoughts, reasonings, and actions of others as far as they do not violate the clear teachings of the Bible as derived through careful orthodox theological reasoning. Followers of Jesus Christ cannot accept as good thoughts, reasonings, and actions that clearly God clearly calls sin.

The Holy Spirit acts directly or through others to reveal that which is contrary to God's word. Repentance is the turning away from falsehood and/or sin as an individual or group when such has been clearly revealed. Many insist that their own reasonong is superior to the Bible and others and therfore insist that others agree with them. If others do not agree they are branded as "intolerant."

God's purpose is to continually refine followers until their holiness is like that of Jesus Christ. When Christ followers accept or tolerate from other Christ followers that which God calls sin we thwart the work of the Holy Spirit in illiciting repentance and increased holiness.